Syria 2025: The Road Is Made by Steps
Ettijahat – Independent Culture announces the launch of several additional initiatives to support cultural and artistic work in Syria, in tandem with the ongoing process of change and ensuring the presence of arts and culture in Syria’s emerging priorities. We aspire to be one of the key contributors to building a vibrant cultural system that supports Syrian cultural actors, rebuilds cultural and social networks, and contributes to social transformation and audience engagement in the wake of the political shift that began on December 8th, 2024.
Since the beginning of the year, the Syrian arts sector has faced profound questions about the role the arts can play in shaping the country’s priorities. As in other countries undergoing post-conflict transitions, the most vital bonds are under immense pressure from displacement, forced migration, the demands of transitional justice, and the need for reconstruction guided by a fair and community-centred vision, all against the backdrop of widespread destruction of cultural spaces. Syria today needs to confront the conflicts, tensions, crimes, and violations that have affected various regions. It needs to work toward civil peace and contribute to building a new national identity based on equal citizenship for all Syrians. Our engagement in this critical moment stems from a central question: How can we support the efforts of the cultural and artistic sector in Syria and its diaspora so that the arts become a bridge for dialogue between communities? And how can they contribute to reimagining and shaping a pluralistic, inspiring Syria, one rooted in its own context and extending beyond it?
We understand that reviving culture in an effective way requires both rapid interventions that yield immediate results and strategic flexibility to adapt to Syria’s complex landscape after 14 years of conflict and division, and 54 years of Assad authoritarian rule. Accordingly, we will continue supporting the independent cultural sector and its role in public life, strengthening connections and collaboration among its members across Syria and its diaspora, expanding the role of cultural heritage in fostering civil peace, and initiating the development of cultural policy proposals rooted in participatory frameworks.
Since December 8th, 2024, the public space has been reopened for Syrians, who can now travel freely across the country for the first time in 14 years. From this turning point, we launch the Naseej initiative, an exploratory space to strengthen collaboration within the Syrian cultural sector. It aims to empower practitioners to develop opportunities for research and audience engagement across Syria’s diverse landscape. We also launch Narratives of Today, in collaboration with the Aflamuna Foundation, to support widespread public screenings of Syrian films produced over the past fourteen years, affirming the right of Syrian audiences to watch their own cinema, and creating platforms for dialogue around the priorities of the current phase. We will also launch a special component of the Zad programme, enabling artists abroad to return to Syria and strengthen collaborative ties with their peers. In parallel, we are developing a new initiative to establish a consultative space bringing together cultural workers to shape shared visions and agreements around the priorities of cultural work. We are also expanding the Douroub programme focused on Syrian cultural heritage to include musical performances, institutional support, and public gatherings.
These new components build on previously launched initiatives that align with our vision of our role. These include a new cycle of the “Laboratory of Arts” programme dedicated to artistic production inside Syria; a new round of the “Ajyal” programme to support students in Syria and Lebanon; exceptional support for 161 students to complete their exams; and emergency aid for 70 affected artists and their families through the “Sanad” programme, based on nominations from trusted individuals with deep knowledge of the cultural field.
When we sought a title to encapsulate this moment, we were reminded of the poem Song of the Open Road by the poet Walt Whitman, which was quoted by our friend Hassan Abbas when speaking about Syrian cultural and civic work in his final interview with us before his passing. Today, we quote this line more from Hassan than from Whitman, as a tribute to the sincere, serious, and tireless efforts of Syrians striving to shape the Syria they envision, one in which arts and culture are building blocks.
Detailed information about the new initiatives, including key dates and application procedures, will be announced at a later date.
